It's All about the Journey; Handbound books, Rubber Stamping, Paper Crafting and Tutorials. Where will your crafting journey take you?

Tutorial: Choosing Paper/Card for your Art Journal

There are plenty of online classes for art journalling and lots of You Tube videos about art journalling, but I couldn’t find any to help me choose a journal design. With this tutorial rather than point you at a journal design that I like, I wanted to give you the information that will help you make your own choice, based on the kind of journalling you do.

In this way you get a journal that will work for you, rather than be a chore to use and perhaps put you off journalling altogether.

What do you want to use on your page?

If you use dry media; like pencils and only limited ink, just to write your journal, then lighter cardstocks like Cartridge papers may well be suitable for your journal pages. On the other hand if you like to layer on lots of inks, paints, glues and glazes, then a heaver weight card would be best. Try out a variety of watercolour cardstocks as these will take all kinds of media.

How do I find out what card is suitable for my needs?

Theres no quick answer to this, it is a matter of experimentation. Art shops often sell individual sheets of cardstock and papers and this is an excellent way to try a good variety of surfaces, with the materials you wish to use on it. One tip though, if you are buying a selection, do make a note of what card is what on it, before your leave the store. That way if you find a favorite, you will know which one it was 🙂

What kind of journal to buy?

When you have decided on which surface you like, you can then choose the kind of journal you wish you use. Watercolour papers are often available as pre bound books, either sewn or ring bound. It is a matter of personal taste and what suits your style of journalling. I have experimented with bound books, spiral bound books and loose sheets. These are a good way to go if you want to start journalling right away and don’t have the tools or time to create a journal from scratch yourself.

Sewn bindings

If you like stamping on to your pages, the sewn bindings can be great as you can get right to the inside edges of the page. The disadvantage of this kind of book is that if you like lots of bulky layers or dimension to your pages, then the pages will quickly get too bulky for the spine of the book and it won’t close properly.

Sprial or ring bound books

Spiral bound books are great if you like dimension on your pages. There is a lot more scope for the pages to increase in bulk with this kind of binding. The disadvantage is that if you like stamping in your journal, then personally I found the wire binding in the way and restrictive in where on the page I could stamp, without bumping into the binding. If you aren’t needing to stamp to the inside edges of the pages, then these kinds of journals are great.

Loose pages

If you are new to journalling and want the option of ditching a page to start over if it goes wrong, then this is a great way to go. I know there are going to be purists that hate me for saying that but you know what, lifes too short. You do learn as much from a page that goes horribly wrong, than one that works, but you don’t always want it there looking at you 😉

I found using loose sheets, that I punch for binding later, a great work around for the issue of stamping to the edges of pages. I can chop and change papers during the book if I am using different media and stamp where ever I like. For me this is the way I’ll be journalling for a while, at least till my confidence improves. Its not for everyone but for newbies like me, its a great way to find your feet and have the freedom to change your cardstocks as you experiment, while finding your own style.

Making your own journal

The advantage of binding your own journal, is you can tailor it to the size, shape and binding style that suits you. It can be as simple or involved a bind as you like, depending on the tools you have to hand.

If you like your pages joined, more like that of a traditional book, I’d recommend going with a Long stitch binding style. You still have the option of pages right next to each other for double page spreads, but the bind is also good for allowing for extra bulk that layering would create.

Spine detail showing the longstich binding

Inside the book

Coptic stitiching is another great binding style to use, as like longstictch, it allows the book to open completely flat. Coptic stitching won’t easily accommodate as many layers as longstitch, but if your journaling stlye isn’t heavy on bulky layers then it is ideal.

Another binding style that may be useful, is by using pre made wires. Either using binder rings or by pre punching your pages and binding them at the end. Both these style of books will give the option of single pages and allow for additional bulk as your journal grows. Binding at the end will allow you to create right up to the edges of the pages, without bumping into the binding wires 😉

BIA Calendar Tutorial

Later in the year, once the brighter weather returns, I hope to make a video tutorial of how to create your own art journal. Until then check out different cardstocks till you find one you like so you are ready to get binding.

Bear in mind that I am still new to art journalling, but if you have questions, I’d be happy to try and help you out. Just leave me a comment 🙂

Like this:

Related

9 Responses

I saw some of your art journalling pages over on UK Stampers and this is something on my ‘Have a go at that’ list 🙂 I love the idea of mixed media creating, probably not very good at it but I can but try!
Loved your pages too 🙂

I like the idea of loose pages because then presumably you could mix and match the base pages couldn’t you? Depending on what you want to do you could use a combination of cardstock, cartridge paper and watercolour paper or wouldn’t this work?

Think my ‘have a go at that’ list is almost as long as my wish list 🙂 Trouble with having the house up for sale is that I can’t get out too many craft things because of hiding it all away again!

You can totally mix n match your papers if you are using a punch and bind system. Anything sturdy enough to take lots of washes will probably be ok on its own, if you are using 220gsm cartridge paper or less it might be worth leaving the back of the page blank so you could glue on a reinforcing strip of heavier card where you punch the holes. To stop the page tearing out, but used gently it would still be ok without it. If you are going for the longstitch version then the lighter pages will get a lot of suppert within other pages. I’ve mixed a few 80gsm sheets in the centers of water colour card, this gives lots of support and plenty of variables of paper type.

We are back to wet n dark here at the moment, so I’m guessing it will be summer to get decent light.

I love the idea of making your own journal! I’m one of those people who will write in a journal for a few months, get bored, and buy a new one. Which gets expensive. I could definitely see myself making some of my own! If I do, I’ll use some of your tips for sure 🙂

I love chatting with fellow crafters so please stop by my blog and drop a quick hello! Maybe we can exchange some tips or projects

Great info here Billie. I love the fact that you are being very honest when you say you are not happy with all your pages. I am just starting out myself and yes, I am not feeling it with some pages. I have been binding my own with rings, and I like what some suggested about how you might get sick of the journal before you are done!

Thanks for dropping by. You know I still find that some days all is right in my art world and I love the results, other days it looks awful. I use this method for most of my journals now, that way if a page or sketch looks wrong, I don’t have to keep it in there. That said, don’t throw out pages you don’t like. Try putting them in a different box, I have been very critical of art I’ve done in the past, but looking back on the pages now, they aren’t nearly as bad as I first though.

You may find as you learn new techniques that you can re-work older pages into something new, that you like even more.

News Updates

New projects have been added to the tabs across the top of the blog.
Check out the 'About' tab, for Challenge themes and free downloadable Calendar Pages are now on there too. Now you can access these all year long.
Just had a tidy up of the side bar and joined Pinterest, do use the follow button to keep up to date with new posts and updates.
Have fun
Billie :)

Grab My Button

To add this button to your blog or website, copy and paste the following code: